At least 20 historic octagon houses are known to exist in Canada, distributed across four eastern provinces. Extant octagon houses in Canada include the following:
At least one of the houses has been claimed to have been used as "stations" sheltering escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad: the Octagon House in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,[7] [8] although that claim has been disputed.[9] Including post-Civil War constructed houses, there are now at least 84 octagon houses that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Octagon houses were particularly popular in New York State. There were 120 octagon houses in New York State,[10] [11] of which 13 are listed on the National Register and listed below.
New Jersey is believed to have had 46 octagon houses and octagon school houses, with 15 houses and one schoolhouse surviving in 2016.[13]
| House name | | Image | | Date built | | Location | | County or equivalent | | State | | Description |
---|
Poplar Forest | | 1806 | 1548 Bateman Bridge Road, Forest, VA 24551 37.3483°N -79.265°W[14] | Lynchburg | VA | Retreat for, and designed by, Thomas Jefferson, NRHP |
The Glebe (Arlington, Virginia) | | 1815 | 4527 17th St., N., Arlington 38.8917°N -77.1178°W | Arlington | VA | NRHP |
May's Folly | | 1829 | 527 1st Ave., Columbus, Georgia 32.4558°N -84.9936°W | Muscogee | GA | NRHP |
Waverley (West Point, Mississippi) | | 1840 | West Point 33.5692°N -88.5036°W | Clay | MS | NRHP |
T. R. R. Cobb House | | 1842 | 194 Prince Ave., Athens 33.9611°N -83.3817°W | Clarke | GA | NRHP |
Yale-Cady Octagon House and Yale Lock Factory Site | | 1849 | 7550 N. Main St., Newport 43.1928°N -75.0183°W | Herkimer | NY | NRHP |
Rich-Twinn Octagon House | | 1849 | 145 Main Street, Akron 43.0219°N -78.4956°W | Erie | NY | NRHP |
Capt. Rodney J. Baxter House | | 1850 | South and Pearl Sts., Barnstable 41.65°N -70.285°W | Barnstable | MA | Only surviving house credited by NRHP to Orson Squire Fowler. Concrete walls. Property includes an octagonal carriage house as well. |
Edward A. Brackett House | | 1850 | 290 Highland Ave., Winchester 42.45°N -71.1292°W | Middlesex | MA | NRHP |
James Coolidge Octagon House | | 1850 | 7271 Main St., Madison 42.898°N -75.5171°W | Madison | NY | Rare example of Octagon house that is also a cobblestone house. |
Dubois-Sarles Octagon | | 1850 | 16 South St., Marlboro 41.6006°N -73.9742°W | Ulster | NY | Rare octagon house with sidehall interior plan (NRHP) |
Octagon Cottage (Rocky Hill, Kentucky) | | 1850 | Near Rocky Hill 36.9694°N -86.0456°W | Barren | KY | NRHP |
Jacob Woodruff House | | 1850 | 610 Liberty Street Ripon 43.8478°N -88.8469°W | Fond du Lac | WI | NRHP |
Enoch Fuller House | | 1850 | 72 Pine St., Stoneham 42.4756°N -71.0986°W | Middlesex | MA | NRHP |
William Bryant Octagon House | | 1850 | 2 Spring Street, Stoneham 42.4817°N -71.0944°W | Middlesex | MA | NRHP |
Elias Crawford House | | 1851 | 3 Norwood St., Worcester 42.2528°N -71.8192°W | Worcester | MA | NRHP |
The Octagon | | 1852 | 297 East Perry Street, Tiffin 41.1167°N -83.1681°W | Ohio | OH | NRHP |
Octagon House (Danbury, Connecticut) | | 1852 | 21 Spring Street, Danbury 41.395°N -73.4594°W | Fairfield | CT | NRHP. Considered best example of style among Connecticut's remaining octagon houses. |
2130 East Broad Street | | 1853 | 2130 East Broad Street, Bexley, Ohio 39.9691°N -82.944°W | Franklin | OH | [15] [16] |
Octagon House (Watertown, Wisconsin) | | 1853 | 919 Charles St., Watertown, Wisconsin 43.1847°N -88.7076°W | Jefferson | WI | NRHP |
Estabrook Octagon House | | 1853 | 8 River St., Hoosick Falls 42.8964°N -73.3531°W | Rensselaer | NY | NRHP. One of the few remaining octagon houses built in strict compliance with Fowler's theories, other than the use of Rosendale cement. |
Williams and Stancliff Octagon Houses | | 1853 | 26 and 28 Marlborough Street, Portland 41.5725°N -72.6389°W | Middlesex | CT | Two octagon houses, side-by-side (Northern on pictured). NRHP |
Denton Octagon House | | 1853 | 760 Castle Street, Geneva | Ontario | NY | (Not NRHP) |
Charles Lawton House | | 1853 | East side of the road at 416 S. Corey St. on NE corner of Corey & Washington Sts.Griggsville, IL | Griggsville | IL | Stucco over brick construction |
John Gibbs House | | 1853 | 1038 Dark Moon Road, Johnsonburg 40.9686°N -74.8681°W | | NJ | Gothic Revival. NRHP contributing property in Johnsonburg Historic District |
Currier House (Almont, Michigan) | | 1854 | 231 E St. Clair Street, Almont 42.9206°N -83.0617°W | Lapeer | MI | Registered Michigan Historical Site and current offices of Four County Community Foundation |
Clarence Darrow Octagon House | | 1854 | 8405 Main Street, Kinsman 41.4497°N -80.5847°W | Trumbull | OH | Boyhood home of lawyer Clarence Darrow, made of chestnut logs and concrete. NRHP |
Andrew Gildersleeve Octagonal Building | | 1854 | Main Rd. and Love Lane, Mattituck 40.9911°N -72.5236°W | Suffolk | NY | NRHP |
Pressey House | | 1854 | 287 Summer St., Oakland 44.5411°N -69.725°W | Kennebec | ME | NRHP |
Henry H. Smith/J.H. Murphy House | | 1854 | 512 E. 6th St., Davenport 41.5261°N -90.5675°W | | IA | NRHP |
Garret Rickards House | | 1854 | 211 Cornelia St., Boonton 40.9064°N -74.4089°W | | NJ | Italianate. NRHP contributing property in Boonton Historic District |
Nathaniel Myers House | | 1854 | 224 Cornelia St., Boonton 40.9069°N -74.409°W | | NJ | Italianate, now rectory of St. John's Episcopal Church. NRHP contributing property in Boonton Historic District |
Wildfell | | 1854 | NW of Darlington on U.S. 1 39.6511°N -76.2197°W | Harford | MD | NRHP |
Hall-Crull Octagonal House | | 1855 | North of Rushville 39.7442°N -85.3861°W | Rush | IN | NRHP |
Richard Barker Octagon House | | 1855 | 312 Plantation Street, Worcester 42.2697°N -71.7711°W | Worcester | MA | NRHP |
Capt. George Scott House | | 1855 | Federal St., Wiscasset 44.0075°N -69.6597°W | Lincoln | ME | NRHP |
Jenkins Octagon House | | 1855 | NY 395, Duanesburg 42.7586°N -74.1853°W | Schenectady | NY | NRHP, designed and built by Alexander Delos "Boss" Jones |
Inkwell (Lake Landing, North Carolina) | | 1855 | E of Lake Landing at 30868 US 264, Lake Landing Township, Engelhard 35.4847°N -76.0531°W | Hyde | NC | NRHP |
Dr. Buck-Stevens House | | 1855 | W. Main St., Brasher Falls 44.8075°N -74.7756°W | St. Lawrence | NY | NRHP |
Shute Octagon House | | 1855 | McGuire School Road, Duanesburg 42.7744°N -74.2194°W | Schenectady | NY | NRHP, designed and built by Alexander Delos "Boss" Jones |
John S. Moffat House | | 1855 | 1004 3rd Street Hudson 44.9808°N -92.7553°W | St. Croix | WI | NRHP |
Sinnett Octagon House | | 1855 | Muscatine 41.4531°N -91.0306°W | Muscatine | IA | NRHP |
Silas Field House | | 1855 | 63 Elmwood Ave. | Providence | RI | Built by "an aristocratic jeweler named Silas Field"[17] |
Miles B. Lawson House | | 1855 | 669 Public St | Providence | RI | |
Frazier-Pressly House | | 1856 | Abbeville County 34.0821°N -82.3022°W | Abbeville | SC | NRHP contributing property |
Palmer-Gullickson Octagon House | | 1856 | 358 Leonard St., West Salem 43.9014°N -91.0817°W | La Crosse | WI | NRHP |
Deacon West Octagon House | | 1856 | 370 High St., Pewaukee 43.0878°N -88.265°W | Waukesha | WI | NRHP |
Langworthy House | | 1856 | 1095 W. 3rd St., Dubuque 42.495°N -90.6792°W | Dubuque | IA | NRHP |
Lukens Pierce House | | 1856 | NW of Ercildoun on Wilmington Rd., Ercildoun 39.9525°N -75.85°W | Chester | PA | NRHP |
Octagon House (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) | | 1856 | 276 Linden St., Fond du Lac 43.7711°N -88.4483°W | Fond du Lac | WI | Claimed to be haunted, has passageways claimed to be "secret", and claimed to have been used as a safe house on the Underground Railway (although Underground Railway claim has been especially strongly disputed). NRHP |
George F. Lee Octagon Houses | | 1856 | South of Nebraska City 40.5719°N -95.8028°W | Otoe | NE | NRHP |
Wilcox Octagon House | | 1856 | 5420 W. Genesee St., Camillus 43.0411°N -76.2783°W | Onondaga | NY | Camillus Historical Society occupies it today. NRHP |
Stephen Harnsberger House | | 1856 | Holly Ave., Grottoes 38.275°N -78.8303°W | Rockingham | VA | NRHP |
Abijah Thomas House | | 1856 | SW of Marion on VA 657, Marion 36.7742°N -81.5703°W | Smyth County | VA | NRHP |
Hiram Smith House | | 1856 | 336 Main Street or 343 Smith Street, Neenah 44.1861°N -88.4686°W | Winnebago | WI | NRHP |
Edward Elderkin House | | 1856 | 127 S. Lincoln St., Elkhorn 42.6681°N -88.5525°W | Walworth | WI | NRHP |
James L. Lawther House | | 1857 | 927 W. 3rd St., Red Wing 44.5619°N -92.5408°W | Goodhue | MN | NRHP |
Feusier Octagon House | | 1857 | 1067 Green Street, San Francisco 37.7985°N -122.4167°W | San Francisco | CA | NRHP |
Albert S. Potter Octagon House | | 1857 | 4 Carolina Main Street, Richmond | Washington County | RI | NRHP contributing property (Carolina Village Historic District) |
Wallingford Octagon House | | ca. 1857 | 37 New Place Street, Wallingford | New Haven County | CT | Historic Buildings of CT |
Norrish House | | 1858 | West 2nd Street and Spring Street Hastings 44.744°N -92.8556°W | Dakota County | MN | NRHP contributing property |
Hiram Ramsdell House | | 1858 | High and Perham Sts., Farmington 44.6714°N -70.1497°W | Franklin | ME | NRHP |
Capt. Josiah E. Chase Octagon House | | 1858 | Chase Mill Road, East Limington 43.7275°N -70.6611°W | York | ME | NRHP |
Prime-Octagon House | | 1859 | 41 Prime Ave., Huntington 40.8744°N -73.4231°W | Suffolk | NY | NRHP |
Timothy M. Younglove Octagon House | | 1859 | 8329 Pleasant Valley Road, Urbana 42.4047°N -77.2436°W | Steuben | NY | NRHP |
Zelotes Holmes House | | 1859 | 619 East Main Street, Laurens, South Carolina 34.4992°N -82.0014°W | Laurens | SC | Believed to be the first concrete house erected in South Carolina; NRHP |
Gutherie Octagon House | | 1850s | Westland, Michigan | Westland | Wayne | MI | Now part of The Westland Historic Village Park, the central portion of the house was built in the 1850s. The two wings were added in the 1930s. The Gutherie family was, and still is, in the lumber industry, which explains the use of Chinese Hemlock on the inside of the house. |
Armour-Stiner House | | 1860 | 45 W. Clinton Ave., Irvington 41.0308°N -73.8704°W | Westchester | NY | Also known as the Carmer Octagon House for 20th Century owner, noted writer Carl Carmer. It may be the only domed octagon house in the world. NRHP |
David Van Gelder Octagon House | | 1860 | 47 Division St., Catskill 42.2178°N -73.8739°W | Greene | NY | NRHP |
Gen. Francis H. West House | | 1860 | 1410 17th Avenue Monroe 42.5981°N -89.6375°W | Green | WI | NRHP |
Octagon House (Barrington, Illinois) | | 1860 | 223 W. Main St., Barrington 42.1542°N -88.1405°W | Cook | IL | NRHP |
Octagon House (Reading, Massachusetts) | | 1860 | 97 Pleasant St., Reading 42.5239°N -71.1008°W | Middlesex | MA | A Carpenter Gothic house that is also octagonal. NRHP |
Wallace-Jagdfeld Octagon House | | 1860 | 171 Forest Ave., Fond du Lac 43.7789°N -88.4536°W | Fond du Lac | WI | NRHP |
Newton Homestead | | 1860 | Ridge Rd., South Otselic 42.6511°N -75.7856°W | Chenango | NY | NRHP |
Charles Butler House (Franklin, Ohio) | | 1860 | 13 E. Jackson St., Franklin 39.5644°N -84.3°W | Warren | OH | NRHP |
John Hosford House | | 1860 | 64 Sandusky St., Monroeville 41.2456°N -82.6961°W | Huron | OH | NRHP |
David Cummins Octagon House | | 1860 | 301 Liberty Street, Conneaut 41.9411°N -80.5572°W | Ashtabula | OH | NRHP |
Longwood (Natchez, Mississippi) | | 1860 | Natchez 31.5367°N -91.4047°W | Adams | MS | Antebellum mansion, interior unfinished as construction was suspended at outbreak of American Civil War. NRHP |
Loren Andrus Octagon House | | 1860 | 57500 Van Dyke Street, Washington 42.7183°N -83.035°W | Macomb | MI | NRHP |
Borden Farm Stable House | | 1860 | 621 May Road, Thompson 41.8133°N -75.4842°W | Susquehanna | PA | Built as a stable, converted to a house.[18] |
Jeremiah Schellinger House | | 1860 | 1386 Lafayette Street, Cape May 38.9458°N -74.9117°W | Cape May | NJ | Italianate. NRHP contributing property in Cape May Historic District |
Octagon House (Westfield, Massachusetts) | | 1861 | 28 King Street, Westfield 42.1214°N -72.7553°W | Hampden | MA | NRHP |
Petty-Roberts-Beatty House | | 1859–61 | 103 N. Midway, Clayton 31.8786°N -85.4494°W | Barbour | AL | NRHP. One of only two known to have been built in Alabama. The other, the Lane House, has been destroyed. |
McElroy Octagon House | | 1861 | 2645 Gough Street, San Francisco 37.7978°N -122.4273°W | San Francisco | CA | NRHP
- Structural concrete construction
|
Octagon Hall | | 1862 | Franklin, Kentucky vic. 36.8069°N -86.5569°W | Simpson | KY | NRHP-listed |
Lyman White House | | 1862 | 127 N. Newcomb St. | Whitewater | WI | Small two-story frame octagonal house.[19] [20] |
Nathan B. Devereaux Octagon House | | 1864 | 66425 Eight Mile Road, Northfield Township 42.4294°N -83.6989°W | Washtenaw | MI | NRHP |
The Pratt and Buckingham Octagon House | | 1865 | 99 Chestnut Street, Fredonia 42.4383°N -79.3381°W | Chautauqua | NY | House and carriage house of concrete construction; house closely followed Fowler floor plans. |
William Waterfield House | | 1867 | 308 3rd St., S., Raymond 42.465°N -92.2197°W | Black Hawk | IA | NRHP |
Randall House | | 1870 | 5927 Treasurer Rd., Mayville 43.3394°N -83.3222°W | Tuscola | MI | NRHP |
Chickasaw Octagon House | | 1871 | Court Street, Chickasaw Township 43.0364°N -92.4994°W | Chickasaw | IA | NRHP |
Nathanial Brittan Party House | | 1872 | 125 Dale Avenue37.5006°N -122.2708°W | San Carlos | CA | NRHP, Victorian-style, two-and-a-half story redwood framed structure with an octagonal folly. |
Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House | | 1879 | 400 Railroad Street, Shirley 39.8906°N -85.5769°W | Hancock | IN | NRHP |
Clapp Octagon House | | 1880 | St. Augustine 29.8873°N -81.2889°W | St. Johns | FL | (not NRHP) |
Ezekiel B. Zimmerman Octagon House | | 1883 | Near Marshallville 40.9228°N -81.7631°W | Wayne | OH | NRHP |
Dr. Nathan and Lula Cass House | | 1885 | 502 N. Travis Ave., Cameron 30.8456°N -96.9772°W | Milam | TX | NRHP |
Robert Waugh House | | 1886 | 202 School St., Sparland 41.0293°N -115.43°W | Marshall | IL | NRHP |
Judge Henry L. Benson House | | 1892 | 137 High St., Klamath Falls 42.2236°N -121.7853°W | Klamath | OR | NRHP |
Longfellow-Hastings House | | 1893 | Heritage Square 3800 Homer St., Los Angeles 34.0882°N -118.2085°W | Los Angeles | CA | NRHP Located at 85 S. Allen Ave., Pasadena at time of placement on NRHP 34.1444°N -118.1125°W |
Hattie O. and Henry Drake Octagon House | | 1893 | 605 3rd Street, SW, Huron 44.3636°N -98.2239°W | Beadle | SD | NRHP |
William H. McCreery House | | 1900 | 746 N. Washington Ave., Loveland 40.3992°N -105.0694°W | Larimer | CO | NRHP |
Arthur W. and Chloe B. Cole House | | 1901 | 5803 Rocky Branch Rd., Houston, Missouri 37.2617°N -92.0328°W | Texas | MO | NRHP |
George H. Gallup House | | 1901 | 703 S. Chestnut Street, Jefferson, Iowa | Greene | IA | NRHP, boyhood home of George Gallup |
Hobbit House | | 1907 | 821 Lincoln Pl., Boulder, Colorado 40.0024°N -105.2815°W | Boulder | CO | Built by brick mason Benjamin Franklin Gregg for Oliver and Mary DeMotte. Duplex with independent basement and main unit, 6 bedroom/4 bathroom underwent major remodel in 2019-20 after lengthy permitting process with the city of Boulder, preserving original stone foundation and footprint, exterior lines and features. Only octagon house in Boulder and one of six in the state of Colorado. House was named by the 1st group of CU Boulder students to live there after the remodel, due to unusual semi-circle door and windows and inordinate number of stairs with low headers leading to basement.[21] |
Other C. Wamsley House | | 1909 | 200 N. 5th St., Hamilton 46.2483°N -114.1603°W | Ravalli | MT | NRHP |
Gallaher House | | 1914 | 600 12th St., Mansfield 48.0078°N -119.6753°W | Douglas | WA | NRHP |
Chemosphere | | 1960 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | CA | |
The Ocho | | 1963 | 21 Cascade Walk 37.7541°N -122.4701°W | San Francisco | CA | As briefly seen in Dirty Harry |
Armory Revival Octagon House | | 1988 | 68-76 Harrison St 41.8148°N -71.4292°W | Providence | RI | 4 Condominium duplex apartments with separate entrances. Located in the Broadway-Armory Historic District |
| | | 8273 Alloway Road, Lyons, New York | Wayne | NY | Rare cobblestone octagon house built originally at least partially as a blacksmith shop, per this source.[22] |
|
directory of historic U.S. and Canadian houses with many photos, compiled by Robert Kline.